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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210994">Apple, Spelled A-P-P-L-E</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherry_Sofa_729/pseuds/Cherry_Sofa_729'>Cherry_Sofa_729</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Unfortunate Circumstances [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dark Sides As Family (Sanders Sides), Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Kid Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Kid Fic, Parental Deceit | Janus Sanders, Parenthood, Short &amp; Sweet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:16:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,239</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210994</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherry_Sofa_729/pseuds/Cherry_Sofa_729</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus and Virgil are learning to read!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Unfortunate Circumstances [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050605</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Apple, Spelled A-P-P-L-E</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">“And what’s this?”</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Apple!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Fantastic! Apple is spelled A-P-P-L-E. can you point to the A?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Their classroom was simple, but effective. Janus was helping Virgil with letter recognition while Remus was sitting with a simple picture book off to the side, attempting to read. Jan had written the alphabet out on several sheets of paper, along with the sound each letter made, so that the boys could use the sheets to help. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Janus set the apple down and prompted Virgil again. “Which one is the A, Virgil?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Virgil scrunched up his face before tapping the sheet. A, the first letter in the alphabet. He never liked guessing, he always worried he would get it wrong and mama would think he was dumb. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“That’s right! Good! Can you tap the P?” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Janus watched Virgil, eyes so wide and small teeth biting his soft bottom lip, struggling to remember which one was called P. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He tapped it. “Good job Virgil! That is the P! Can you think of words that start with P?” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus piped up from his corner. “Poo!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Janus sighed. “Technically yes.” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Virgil furrowed his brow, somehow becoming even cuter. “Pink!” He exclaimed as though he had made a grand discovery. They learned colours yesterday. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Janus cheered and clapped for him. “Yup!” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus whined. “Mama, I dunno what this says.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He didn’t have to turn around to hear the pout in his voice. “Let me finish with Virgil, sweetie.” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">The next two letters were a breeze. Virgil tapped L and E and then got a small break, doodling on the alphabet sheets while Janus went over to help Remus. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“What’s that say?” He asked, pointing at the word ‘running.’</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Janus chuckled. “I can’t just tell you that.” What kind of teacher would he be?</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus pouted. “But I don’t know what it says!” He whined, dramatically falling onto the musty carpet. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Now now, it’s not the end of the world.” He tugged Remus to his knees and sat with him in front of the book. “Let’s break it down okay?” Janus covered the last half of the word. “Let’s try reading that now.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus huffed but reluctantly tried to read it. “Rrrrr- uh- rrrru ru n. Ru-n. Run.” He choked out, looking up at his mama for confirmation.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Janus nodded his approval and moved to cover the part Remus just read. “Now let’s read the ending”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus squinted at the letters. “I- I-“ he continued to stutter, trying to focus but just not getting anywhere. He couldn’t figure out how to put the I and the N together. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“How about you try the N-G.” Janus prompted, seeing Remus getting frustrated. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Nnn-guh.” That came easy. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Good. Now remember, ‘I’ can make two sounds. It can make an ‘eye’ sound or an ‘ee’ sound.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Okay…” Remus huffed and tried again. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">After a lot of working it and blowing raspberries to try and get his tongue to work, he managed to pronounce it as ‘ing’. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Good job! Now let’s put the two together.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Run… ing. Running?” Remus asked tentatively.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Yes! Good job baby.” Janus ruffled his hair as praise for a job well done. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He stood up and stretched his back out before sighing. “I think that’s enough learning for a bit.” He couldn’t stay hunched over much longer anyway. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus cheered, throwing the book to the side and jumping to his feet. Virgil flinched at the loud noise as he started to gather the sheets of paper into a stack. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Janus looked at the apple he had set aside earlier and was struck by an idea. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He had cream, right? And sugar, corn syrup, hmm, the butter was a little bit of a waste, but he had plenty of lard left...</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">And regardless, his kids had worked so hard on their studies all week, they deserved a treat. They hardly ever got sweets, hell, it was rare for them to have fruit most days. So what if it was a little wasteful? He doesn’t always have to save and store and plan for some inevitable day where it all runs out. He might as well enjoy the small things, like a good caramel apple, while he still can. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He grabbed the apple off the floor and two more from the fruit basket. Then, he set the kids down to watch cartoons while he made the caramel. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">As the sugar and corn syrup was boiling, he stepped outside and found three good sized sticks. He washed them, carefully stripped off the bark with a knife and sharpened them to a point. Then, he stuck them into the apples. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He swirled the sugar in the pan, added the butter and cream, and soon the caramel is ready for dipping. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He’d let the kids dip they’re own apples, but he only had three prepared and didn’t want to mess up. So, he carefully dipped them in caramel and left them to cool. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He wiped his hands and went back over to the kids. “Whatcha watching?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Cat Dog!” Virgil chirped. “Something smells really good.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“That’s your treat for working so hard today.” He said, ruffling his baby’s long hair. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus popped up over the back of the couch. “Treat?!” He asked with a wide, almost scarily intense grin. He was a sugar <em>fiend.</em></span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Heck yeah a treat.” Janus said, mock offended. “Would I lie to you about that?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Virgil scowled. “Yeah you would. You said one time we were gonna get treats if we brushed our teeth and that didn’t happen.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He rubbed the back of his head, laughing awkwardly at being exposed. “Well I’m not lying this time.” He said, gesturing to the kitchen. “I’ve got caramel apples cooling on the counter.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He watched the boys’ faces light up and break into huge smiles. They ran into the kitchen and stared in awe at the shiny, glistening caramel apples. Janus batted their curious fingers away until they were cool. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Once they could touch them safety, he handed them to the hungry boys. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Two hands.” He said, making sure Virgil got a good grip on the stick. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus looked at the delicious, golden candy apple, practically salivating. He opened wide and bit down with an almost cartoonish chomping sound. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Mmm. Sweet caramel with tangy apple, somehow crunchy and soft all at once... this was heavenly. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He went in for another bite-</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Ouch!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">His wiggly tooth- which had only started to loosen a few days ago, suddenly flared with a sharp pain, before the sensitive gums were exposed to cold air. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">He spat out the mess of caramel apple, and there, a little bloody, was his tooth.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“You okay, Rem?” Janus asked. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“My tooth fell out!” He cheered. “I mean I don’t think it was supposed to cuz it’s bleeding a bit, but it’s out!” He said, showing the bloody tooth to his mama with a proud smile. </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Wow! That’s neat! Virgil look at your brother’s tooth.” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Virgil wrinkled his nose as Remus showed him. “Gross.” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">Remus smiled, now with a gap in the front, and went back to eating his treat. He put the tooth in his pocket for safekeeping. He was going to start a collection! </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Virgil, when you’re teeth fall out can I have them?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Ewww! No!” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“Why not? You’re not using them!” </span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">“No!!!”</span>
</p>
<p class="p2">
  <span class="s2">As the kids bickered over who exactly got to keep Virgil’s baby teeth, Janus sighed with contentment, leaned back in his seat, and simply enjoyed a delicious caramel apple. </span>
</p>
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